Frost Patterns in the Eyes
by Maybell's Stories
Summary: The past is impossible to change. That much Jack knew. But when a moment of death becomes a moment of life, he gets the chance to change the future. And as he continues to step forward in an effort to forget the past, Jack finds it to be closer than he ever could have imagined. Human AU.
1. Prologue

**I Don't own RotG.**

**Frost Patterns in the Eyes  
**

* * *

_Darkness._

_That's the first thing I remember._

_It was dark._

_And it was cold._

_And I was scared.  
_

* * *

If there was one thing that the albino child laying alongside the wall of the fence had ever wanted. It was to die in the snow.

He had long since given up hope on that idea as he lay on the wooden fence. He had been there three days. Three days without moving an inch. His once vibrant icy eyes a dull navy blue. His once pure white hair a dirty grey mess. The summer that year had been particularly hot and his scrawny body was grimy and covered in dirt.

His dull eyes looked up at the people passing him by as if he were invisible.

As if he didn't exist.

He reached his hand up towards them.

"Please..."

It was a hopeless attempt and he knew it. He let his arm fall back down to his side and closed his eyes. His stomach began growling again and he felt like crying. He wanted to cry, but all his tears had been long ago forced out.

It was hot.

_I want the cold._

He was exhausted.

_I want to sleep._

His stomach screamed.

_I want to eat._

His eyes begged for someone to notice him.

_I want attention._

_I want._

_I want._

_I need to die._

He opened his eyes as a shadow passed over his body.

And closed them to finally sleep.

To finally die.

As he drifted off he felt the strange sensation of being shaken.

* * *

**So this is a plot bunny that has been hopping around my head for a while, so I decided with my summer break coming up I should have time to write it.**

**This is an AU.**

**This will have irregular updates so please don't continue to ask me when I'll get stuff updated. I'll be really busy this summer, but I should be able to update weekly.**

**R&R**

**Bye Bye~**


	2. Apples and Hide and Seek

**I Don't own RotG.**

**Frost Patterns in the Eyes  
**

* * *

Warmth.

That was the first thing Jack noticed as he regained consciousness. It was hot, and he couldn't stand it. He found his arm to be lifeless so he focused more on trying to open his eyes.

Green.

That was the first color he saw. Green blankets. Green walls. Green plants.

Green. Green. Green.

He was in a small room with a dresser, a bed and desk.

Wait...

Why was he in a room?

His hands finally seemed to move and he pushed the blankets off of his body. After a bit of struggling he sat himself up into a sitting position. He pulled his legs off the bed and set them on the ground.

Wood.

Naked.

He wasn't wearing a shirt.

And the pants on his legs weren't his.

The grey sweatpants were way to large for his tiny waist and the string in the waistline was pulled as tight as it would go so not to fall off his small body.

Questions swarmed around in his brain as he tried to gain his bearings. Looking to his right he found his shepherd's crook laying against the wall and he let out a sigh of relief at the sight of it. The precious wooden staff carved from the oak tree that helped build the house he had once lived in was a precious heirloom that had been passed down for many generations. The intricate frost designs carves into the wood stood out and the boy let his hand run it's fingers along the patterns.

His hair fell into his face.

White.

Jack hated his hair, just another reminder of why he was alone. He pushed it out of his face and forced his body to stand up. Leaning heavily on his staff, he slowly made his way to the door. Pale hands grabbed the handle and twisted it. He took a deep breath and cracked open the door to get a peak. His bare chest making him uncomfortable, he began looking for his clothes.

A small light came from the end of the hallway, listening closely he could hear voices drift into the hall. Jack suddenly felt the urge to turn around and return to the room he had woken up in.

As he turned around to trek back to the bedroom he came to face a blonde man standing behind him. He was shorter then Jack, but yet at the same time, he could help but feel intimidated. Freezing, he waited for the man to shout to the others, however, when no sound came from his mouth, Jack looked at the man quizzically.

The man just smiled and took Jack's arm in his small hand and dragged him away from the lit room. He stared down at the man who had found him, the strange yellow suit reminding him of Curious George, all he needed was a big yellow hat.

After some pulling he brought him back to the room he had woken up in. Jack was pushed to the bed and the short man walked over to what looked like a dresser. He opened it up and pulled out Jack's clothes. The white haired boy let out a small sigh of relief at being handed his blue sweatshirt and brown pants. Holding them close he breathed in the scent of the woods, a reminder of his life before. He quickly put the shirt on, eyes wide with a little bit of wonder at the feeling of it being clean yet still holding the scent of home. He removed the overly large sweatpants he had been wearing and slipped into his brown pants.

A feeling of comfort washed over him and he laid back onto the bed. It was then that he realized the blonde man was no longer in the room.

Jack grabbed his staff once more and maneuvered over to the now open door and peaked out. No one was coming toward the room. Now comfortably clothed, Jack walked down the hallway towards the area that didn't have the light gleaming against the hard wood floor, the voices were still coming through the room with the light and he tried to walk away with a much silence as he could muster, the need for a door out becoming greater. He turned the corner at the end of the dark hallway. Only moonlight peaking through the window that rested on the wall lit his way. The voices had faded and he found himself staring out the window at the large moon.

Jack's mind flittered back to his childhood and he closed his eyes with a small smile.

"What d'ya think you're doin' outa bed mate?"

Once again the feeling of being frozen took over Jack's frame. Holding tight to his staff he forced himself to turn around. Instead of having to look down again, he came face to face with a chest. He looked up at the man in front of him. His heavy accent very openly displaying Australian.

A scowl played on his face as he stared down at Jack's small form.

He swallowed, trying to find words.

"Uh.. I was.."

The man sighed and grabbed his arm. More forcefully than the short blonde had.

"H-hey! Let go of me!"

The taller man responded without even glancing at him, "You've been out cold for the past week an' a half. Your fever broke yesterday, ya' need to be in bed resting."

He stopped struggling in the tight grip.

A week and a half?

He'd been asleep for that long?

While he was thinking he soon found himself pushed back onto the bed while the other set his staff down by the bed.

How did he get it from him?

"By the way, who gave ya' your clothes back?"

Coming back from his mind again Jack answered, "The short man."

The Aussie whipped around to face him, "Who?"

"The one with the blonde hair and wearing yellow. And he was really short."

His gaze narrowed in confusion. "Mate, they're no one here who looks like that."

A strange feeling of deja vu rinsed over him and he felt is head fall into his lap.

Silence fell over the room as the taller man opened the door and left the teen in the room to himself as he mulled over the new information given to him.

* * *

Another day passed before Jack tried to move around again. The tall man, whom Jack had learned was called Aster, had returned a few times to try to instill food into the skinny boy. Both Jack had refused because of the nauseated feeling he'd had wallowing in his stomach. And once again Aster had returned, sitting on a small stood trying to get apple slices into the pale child.

"Com' on! Just a little piece!"

"No."

"Why won't you just eat it? Besides, it's sweet, all kids are supposed to like sweet stuff."

Jack could feel a twinge of annoyance prick at his head.

"Not me. And I'll have you know, I'm not a kid, I'm seventeen."

"And I'll have _you_ know, if it wasn' for me walkin' home two weeks ago, you'd be dead now," Aster retorted, continuing to persist in sticking the piece of apple towards Jack's lips.

Jack's eyes narrowed and he looked away, "Who said I wanted to live anyways."

Either Aster didn't hear it or he chose to ignore the remark as he continued on, "And besides, Tooth would be devastated if she found out tha' her new favorite patient died from refusing ta eat."

"Tooth?"

Aster paused, "Oh yea', ya' haven't seen the others yet. They were out workin' yesta'day, and neither got back here till late. Ya'll like Tooth, tha's not her real name, but she's a dentist with'a tooth fetish. And Nick, who we call North, usually works from here, bu' yesta'day he had ta' go out ta' a business meetin' with an ol' associate o' his. Philip, his right hand man, was with 'im. And Tooth's daughter was sleepin' all yesta'day so I didn' wanna wake the little ankle bitah."

Jack's open mouth gave Aster to stuff an apple slice into it before forcing the mouth shut. With a little fuss Jack chewed the apple and swallowed.

"Uh.. so what do you do then?"

Aster looked a little taken back by the question, "Oh, me, well, I guess ya' could say I'm an artist, bu' tha's just in my spare time, I'm a lawyer."

Jack hummed his response and leaned back against the board of the bed and looked out the window of the small town they were in. The warmth of the sun out the window had drawn the children out of their houses to jump around in the sprinklers.

Aster noticed his gaze and watched the children jump through the rays of glistening water.

"Good ol' Burgess. I'll nevah leave this place."

The silence lasted for a few minutes before the sound of a crash came from below them and a string or Russian curses could be heard before laughter sounded, along with the pitter patter of tiny feet along the floor.

The door of the bedroom opened and a small body of black hair and colorful pajamas ran into the room and jumped onto the bed before climbing over Jack and hiding in the corner of the bed that met the wall, using his skinny frame as a poor shield.

Footsteps sounded again and a man much taller than Aster appeared in the doorway. His strong arms clearly showing in the red t-shirt he was wearing. His eyes immediately went to the bundle that was curled up into Jack's side and he quickly looked away and stroked his brown beard and scratched his chin.

"Hmm, I wonder were little Ra is? I was so certain I heard her run in here."

A small giggle came from the child by Jack.

The man smiled and started to pace the room.

"I wonder, could she be in the closet?... Or maybe under the bed?...Or maybe.."

The man stood back up and walked to the side of the bed a quietly as his body would let him. He looked at Jack and put a finger to his mouth, while rubbing the other on Aster's head, eliciting an annoyed grunt from the Australian.

Slowly, he reached over Jack's small frame and noticing the girl had not moved her face from Jack's side he quickly snatched her up with a small scream from her.

"Or maybe she's hiding behind others!"

Sweeping her into his arms she let out a bout of laughter as he tickled her sides.

"Now next time you jump on my legs while I'm carrying boxes I will not go so easy on you!"

As soon as he set her down she nodded her head and ran out the door the sound of giggle trailing after her.

After shoving another apple slice into Jack's mouth, Aster turned to look at the Russian.

"Ya' know North, ya've said that exact same thing to her at least five times this past week."

North dismissed the notion and pulled up a chair that was resting at the other side of the room.

"What can I say, I love children."

Aster snorted.

"Who would have guessed."

Jack, who had been unhappily munching on the apple stuffed into his mouth, swallowed and awkwardly cleared his throat.

The two looked back at him and Aster noticed that Jack had been sitting there.

Coughing, he spoke, "Uh, right, North, this is Jack, Jack this is North."

The Russian eyed Jack for a moment before looking over at Aster, "Why is he so skinny, have you not been feeding him?"

"O' course I have, he just won't eat anything!"

"What have you tried feeding him?"

"Ah I don' know? Soup? Apples? Bread?"

North snorted, "Well of course he doesn't eat, why don't you give him something yummy, like cookies?"

"North, you can feed a kid cookies after they've just woken from a weeklong sickness. They need to eat healthy!"

"Bah, you are always so uptight Bunny, learn to cut loose a little."

Jack couldn't hold back the snort that came from his nose.

_Bunny?_

One of Aster's eyebrows twitched, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

North just smiled and patted him on the back, "Does not matter how many times you tell me, I will still call you Bunny."

Laughing, Jack asked, "How do you get Bunny from Aster?"

North looked at Jack, "I don't get it from Aster, Aster's last name is Bunnymund."

Before Jack could respond Aster, or Bunny, spoke, "I will sue you someday."

"You keep saying that, Bunny, but until then, why don't we feed this boy something he would really want."

Knocking the plate of apples out of Bunny's hand he pulled Jack out of the bed with one arm and handed him his staff to help him walk.

"Come on Jack, I give you something you'll actually want to eat."

Fuming, Bunny followed the two out the door, and proceeded to bicker all the way to the kitchen.

* * *

**Bah Bah Bah Chapter One.**

**Okay, so clarification on a few things.**

**Baby Tooth is Tooth's daughter, but I gave her the name Ra, short for Rashimi, which is Tooth's mother's name.**

**Age wise let me give you and idea of them:**

**Jack-17**

**Bunny-25**

**North-32**

**Tooth-30**

**BabyTooth-3**

**Phil-28**

**Yes I realize that Bunny is older than North in the books and history, but since I wanted Bunny to have a closer age to Jack I put him at 25 and North in his thirties, so even though North is only 7 years older than Bunny, he is the parental figure of the household.**

**Okay, then,**

**R&R**

**Bye Bye~**


	3. Where Jack Learns There Is Still Good

**I Don't own RotG.**

**Frost Patterns in the Eyes  
**

* * *

Jack wasn't sure what to make of this ragtag group of housemates.

Following this 'North' fellow down to the kitchen, which was a large square room with a fridge in the right corner and a stove on the side opposite of the entryway. A doorway that lead to what Jack presumed was the living room was on the left wall, and the whole right wall was decorated with cabinets, drawers, and countertops that held various backing ingredients. A medium sized dining table sat in the middle of the room. Jack couldn't but let his eyes wander around the room in slight awe and the cleanliness that seemed to radiate from the room.

A rumble alerted Jack and brought him back to reality. North and Bunny paused in their bickering and eyed Jack before North let out a bellow. Jack could feel his face heat up in embarrassment. He hadn't thought that he was in any way hungry, but maybe that was simply his psyche telling him he didn't want to eat the food because... well, he really couldn't think of a reason for not wanting to eat. The nauseous feeling had left him when the young girl, Ra, had run into the room, disrupting his sulking.

"Here Jack why don't you sit down."

Taking a seat at the table, Jack continued to let his mind wander as North proceeded to get out ingredients for whatever he was planning to make. Bunny and he resumed their argument, eventually agreeing to not make Jack cookies, but eggs and toast. Something healthy at least.

As they settling into cooking, Jack noticed the clock hanging on the wall above the stove.

3:46.

He.

Hehe.

He was eating breakfast at 3:46 in the afternoon.

He didn't know why he thought it was funny, but he felt himself smiling.

A flash of gold caught his eye.

Whipping his head around to the doorway that lead to the living room, Jack noticed a golden head disappear.

Becoming fully alert to the surrounding area, Jack stood from the chair. He could hear Bunny and North whispering furiously to each other, but was to preoccupied with finding the small golden man to notice. Swiftly leaving the room, Jack walked into the living room. It was a small room and the door to exit towards what Jack guessed was the backyard. There was also a separate hallway at the other corner of the room. The room itself had several couches and a television that sat above a lit fireplace. Looking around quickly Jack spotted the blonde man's face who hide from sight as he continued down another hallway.

He followed him.

The hallway was normal and the door that lead to the front yard rested at the end, but he soon noticed that the blonde had turned down a more narrow hall that was to the right, about halfway through the hall. The hall was short and a door sat at the end. The blonde man was standing at the door as if waiting for Jack to open the door.

Curious of what lay beyond, pale finger wrapped themselves around the brass handle and opened the door. A set of stairs appeared behind the door and Blondie walked in and began to descend the stairs, when Jack didn't follow into the darkness he turned around and gestured for him to follow.

Tentatively, Jack stepped onto the staircase and was suddenly filled with a strong sense of curiosity to find out what waited at the bottom of the stairs. Shutting the door behind him, Jack expected to drown in darkness, but was surprised to find that he could see perfectly fine.

Dismissing it, Jack followed until they reach the bottom.

It wasn't what Jack was expecting.

* * *

Bunny and North had yet to notice the absence of their skinny charge, instead speaking to each other in hushed tones.

"I'm tellin' ya mate, he saw 'im. This... kid could be exactly wha' we've been waiting all this time fer'."

"You don't know this Bunny. He could have been tired, simply hallucinating."

"Mate, no one knew what he looked like 'cept us and Manny. It can't be a simple coincidence."

"Bunny-"

Holding a hand up to stop the Russian from continuing he finished, "Wait, I can prove it."

Bunny turned around to ask Jack the question he had only to find an empty seat, void of any pale children.

"Where'd he go?"

A blue glow erupted from the crystal necklace that laid on Bunny's chest. Turning around, he could see that North's crystal, which was in the ring that resided on his thumb glow as well.

* * *

Jack stared at the large blue shard of crystal in front of him. Resisting the strong urge to touch it he looked to Blondie, who had moved to stand beside the crystal. He looked at Jack and moved his hand to hover over the crystal. It was a simple movement, but Jack understood.

Slowly he reached out to touch the mineral.

The moment his finger pressed against the shard, Jack felt his palm follow quickly, almost as if his hard was glued to it. His eyes became trapped at the crystal and his awareness of the world around him disappeared. As he stared at the expansion of blue he suddenly heard a voice in his head.

_Hello._

Jack's head was moved up to lock eyes with Blondie, whose small hand was also resting against the crystal. His eyes, Jack noticed, had lost all iris, pupil, white and instead was a glossy grey.

He was staring back at Jack.

_My name is Sanderson._

Jack tried to open his mouth to respond his name, but found he could not get his mouth to move.

_I know your name, Jackson._

Jack, quickly catching on thought to Sanderson.

_How d you know my name?_

The grey eyes flashed gold for a moment before he responded.

_I know many things Jack. I'm here to help._

The light seemed to grow brighter.

_Who are you?_

A sad smile fell onto the little man's face and Jack suddenly felt his fingers lifting from the crystal.

_A dead man. A dead man who has been waiting five years for you to come._

Suddenly Jack's fingers were completely pulled from the crystal and he found himself face to face with a very worried looking Bunny. Looking closer her saw something else in his green eyes.

His reflection.

Though it was only a few seconds Jack saw something he never thought he'd see again.

Through the emerald eyes of Aster's, Jack saw his own eyes glow bright blue.

Not like Sanderson's, but Jack's irises were glowing like a snowflake that seemed to pop out of his eye.

That second was over and Jack's face soon returned to normal and he suddenly felt exhausted.

It wasn't until Bunny caught him that he realized that he had started to collapse.

"Whoa mate, ya' alrigh'?"

Bunny slipped his arm over his shoulder and together, along with a very startled looking North the returned back up the stairs and into the living room. He caught Bunny and North stealing glances at each other as they set him down on one of the comfy couches.

Bunny walked into the kitchen along with North and he filled up a glass with water and returned to hand it to Jack, who accepted it with a mutter of "Thanks."

"No! I burnt the toast!" North shouted through the door.

The eggs, now cold, were discarded along with the toast as they joined Jack in the living room and sat themselves down adjacent to the white haired boy.

Silence filled the room as they sat there, each one contemplating what to say next.

Jack's eyes wandered the room. He was sitting on a brown couch that had several blankets draped over it. The door leading outside was to his left and he pondered running out the door, never to look back. Behind the couch North and Bunny were taking up residence were a great many pictures of the occupants.

The wall to Jack's right, was the fireplace with the television sitting above it. Jack could feel the flickering flames' heat maneuver throughout the room. Although a nice change from being stuck outside in the cold constantly, he found the heat to be stifling.

"Jack."

His eyes flickered back over to where Bunny and North were eyeing him cautiously.

"Yes?"

All to quickly, Jack began to notice the signs of a long and notably boring conversation ahead and he found himself to be extremely uncomfortable. The fireplace becoming that much more stuffing.

The two across from him exchanged a quick glance and North nodded.

"Jack, about what happened when we first met," he began, "Do ya' remember our conversation?"

Sanderson's image appeared in Jack's head and he nodded.

"How I told ya' there wasn't anyone who lived here that looked like what ya' described?"

He didn't want to continue this conversation and an uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach, which had yet to be filled.

"Yes."

"Will ya' please describe 'im again?"

Not fully understanding what them knowing what he looked like had to do with him touching the crystal, but he answered anyways. The previous image of Sanderson with those grey eyes trapped in his memory.

"He was short, about up to my waist. He had golden blonde hair that seemed to stick up in random places, and he was dressed in all yellow. Yellow pants, a yellow shirt, yellow vest, yellow. Though, I guess it was more of a golden color."

North had a look of utter surprise on his face, while Bunny's eyes continued to be set straight.

"And will ya' tell me who ya' were speakin' ta' while ya' hand was on that crystal?"

"He said his name was Sanderson."

The silence returned and North stood.

"I will be right back, I must contact the others."

And with that, the tall Russian left the room leaving Jack and Bunny to wallow in the silence.

Once again, Jack's stomach rumbled and the sound resounded against the walls.

Without a word, Bunny stood and walked into the kitchen. After a bit of rustling he returned holding a plate. He set it on the coffee table that sat between the two and Jack looked upon the plate in curiosity.

Cookies.

As his stomach made another loud complaint he took one of the sugary treats into his hand and slipped the morsel into his mouth. The sweetness that hit his tongue instantly reminded him of his strong hunger and he quickly grabbed another cookie from the plate and shoved it into his mouth.

Sooner than he would have liked the plate was empty and he felt his stomach continue to growl, but he ignored it.

Bunny stared at him from across with a look that settled between disgust and amusement.

"When was the last time ya' had a proper meal?"

"Not including the few apple slices you managed to get down my throat... um... two.. three weeks?"

The amusement fell from Bunny's face.

"Mate-"

"No it's okay, I've been able to scrounge up a few things here and there. And you can always boil river water. Though I'm not very good at hunting or fishing, I do know how to scavenge. Though, it's been a while since I was in an area that had berry bushes or fruit trees," he laid back on the couch and watched the celling, "Man, it's been forever since I've had meat. But I don't like to stay in one place too long, trouble tends to follow me."

His belly sounded off again and Bunny picked up the empty plate and once more left.

Jack closed his eyes and he could hear North lumber back into the kitchen where he began to speak with Bunny.

"I've called Tooth and Phillip, they're on their way home."

"Good-"

The rest of their conversation was lost to Jack as a weight settled itself beside him. He cracked one eye open to look at the bundle of color that sat alongside him.

Ra was staring at him as his stomach growled again, _would it not shut up?_, her violet and blue eyes, which he had just noticed were actually two different colors, drifted down to his belly. It growled again and she reached a small hand out and slapped his stomach.

"Your tummy makes funny noises."

Jack couldn't hide the grin that graced his features. he closed his eyes once more and fully relaxed onto the couch.

"That's because their a monster in my tummy that growls when he's upset."

Colored eyes widened, "Really?"

"Really."

Poking his belly again she asked, "Why is he angry?"

"Because I forgot to feed him."

She placed both hands on his stomach and proceeded to squeeze, causing Jack to let out a small laugh. Thinking she had angered the tummy monster, she quickly pulled her arms away.

"Will something bad happen to you if the monster stays angry?"

"Not for a while, he just likes to whine more than he needs to. He's just a big crybaby."

"Will he hurt me?"

He cracked an eye towards her before closing it again.

"Of course not, my belly monster can only hurt me."

Placing her hands back on his tummy, once again searching for the monster she looked up at Jack.

"Is he hurting you now?"

Jack thought for a minute, "No, he's just making me uncomfortable."

His stomach monster let out another long growl, fascinated, Ra put her ear to his belly listening to the monster whine about not having what he wanted.

"I've never had a belly monster before."

Blue eyes snapped open.

He looked down to where she sat beside him, her hands still probing for the belly monster. And unconsciously he felt his hands remove themselves from behind his head to wrap themselves around her small body. He picked her up and held her close, all the while trying not to let the tears that had begun to form in his eyes fall out.

"Ra, you don't know how good that is."

Though she didn't understand what he meant she smiled and wrapped her small arms around his neck and giggled at his soft white hair that tickled her nose.

And Jack wished.

He wished to anyone who would hear him.

That this child would not have to _ever _experience having a belly monster.

Suddenly he couldn't hold back the tears that fell silently from blue orbs.

* * *

**So School has started and my head is about to explode. AND IT'S ONLY THE FIRST WEEK!**

**So you can guess I will be VERY busy this year.**

**Anyways**

**Guess what, I know have myself a BETA reader!**

**The awesome:**

**AnimeApprentice**


	4. The Time Where Things Are Discovered

**I do not own RotG.**

**Warning. Violence and Gore in this Chapter.**

**Frost Patterns in the Eyes  
**

* * *

The notion of a full belly had long since left Jack's mind. So when Bunny set the plate of food in front of his face he had wondered whom it was for. Surely not for him, the pale child who had intruded into this home.

"Whose this for?"

A look of bewilderment crossed the artist's features before he scowled, "It's for you of course, ya gumby. Who else would it be for?"

He looked around the empty room, Ra had long since left his cuddling for the restroom. With caution, Jack reached for the fork that say beside the plate of...

Wait.

Was that?

Jack unconsciously found himself drooling as his gaze rested upon the plate of chicken and various vegetables that seemed to ooze flavor. He suddenly felt the urge that this food couldn't possibly be real, that he must be dreaming.

With no notice, Bunny, who had been waiting to see the kid stuff his face, became impatient with the unnaturally skinny boy resting on the couch. With a grumble of annoyance he took the fork from Jack's hand and stabbed it into the slice chicken, before grabbing his face and forcing the chicken into his mouth. When a look of shock passed over Jack's face, Bunny couldn't hold back the smirk of triumph as he stabbed the fork once again into the chicken.

Jack, startled by the change in the silence, quickly composed himself and stopped Bunny's hand from grabbing his cheeks a second time.

"Hey hey, I can feed myself you know!" He said, pulling the fork from Bunny's hand.

"Then eat."

Slowly, Jack put the second piece of chicken in his mouth and chewed. The warm juices flowing over his mouth, and he quickly reached for another piece, followed with some of the broccoli and tomatoes that sat on the plate as well.

Soon the plate was empty, and Jack leg out and extremely contented sigh. A somber laugh escaped his lips as his eyes once again started to moisten. Bunny had returned to the seat in front of him watching Jack inhale the plate of food similar to that of a vacuum. Never hashed seen someone eat food so quickly. And the plate had been nearly filled.

"Are ya still hungry?"

Jack looked up from his spot where he had sunk down into the couch.

"No, no. I'm so full now. Thank you so much. It's been so long..." He trailed off.

The smile was replaced with a depressive look, before returning full force with tears dripping from blue eyes.

"It's been so long..."

Without a word Jack stood from his spot on the couch and shuffled over to where the lawyer sat. Green eyes following his every move. When Jack took a seat next to him he watched as thin, too thin, arms wrapped around his torso.

"It's been so long since anyone has been so nice to me."

Bunny adjusted his arms to accommodate the frail child sitting beside him.

He could feel the tears dripping onto his shirt, which seemed to increase into small sobs after wrapping his arms around him.

"C'mon, ya still need some rest. Let's get ya back to bed."

Slowly, the two stood, and with a strong grip on the small body, they trailed through the kitchen, where North stood, leaning against the wall. He gave the man a nod when he glanced at them as they walked in.

Settling Jack into bed, Bunny closed the blinds and left the child to relax in the soft mattress. That was when something occurred to him.

This must have been Bunny's room. And he had been sleeping in there for how long, a couple weeks? Suddenly he felt like a larger burden then he already was. He mentally told himself to remember to apologize to Bunny for taking his room.

The sunlight of the afternoon was filtering through the shades that had been shut. And a few words drifted through his mind as his eyes slowly fell.

_Light was a truly beautiful thing.  
_

* * *

When he opened his eyes, sunlight was still squeezing its way through the closed blinds. Jack closed his eyes again in a moment of bliss. He felt well fed and well rested, something he never thought would happen to him again.

Knowing he couldn't lay in the bed, he slowly maneuvered himself up. Pushing his toes out of the warmth of the blanket, he stood up and pulled his arms behind his back. Stretching out his muscles he let out a yawn.

Once fully stretched and set, Jack made his way to the door. His hand gripped the handle and pushed it open, letting the artificial light of the house guide him back to the kitchen.

Upon reaching the room, he found Bunny and North talking with two new people sitting at the table. A young woman who reminded Jack of an older Ra, same colorful clothes, and bright violet eyes. Her dark hair highlighted with bright greens, yellows, and blues. And a man whose size was extremely similar to North's. His broad shoulders and strong arms were chiseled from years of hard work. His hair was grey with a tint of brown, though he couldn't have been much older than North.

If he were to guess, the two newcomers must've been Tooth and Phillip.

With a jolt, Jack realized the conversation had stopped and all eyes were on him.

"Ah, Jack, nice that you have woken up! You had a nice sleep, yes?"

Turning to North, Jack couldn't help the contented smile that wove it's way onto his lips.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, as if she had magically moved, Tooth was in front of Jack, eyes wide and staring at him.

"Wow! Look at your teeth!"

His... teeth?

Without warning she grabbed his mouth and began poking and prodding at all his teeth.

"Oh my! Look at them! They're so white! How do you keep them so beautiful?"

"Mama! Mama! I wanna see!" Ra, who had appeared so suddenly was lifted up by her mother, who continued to gawk over a stunned Jack.

"Tooth! Fingers out of mouth!" boomed North.

"Oh! Sorry! They're just so pretty."

With Ra in her arms, Tooth made her way back to the table, where North had just stood.

"Maybe we should take this into the living room."

Once again sitting his rump on the soft couch, Jack found himself with the smaller version of Tooth sitting in his lap, with Tooth to his right. Phillip and North were in the couch opposite, and Bunny was sitting in a chair that he had pulled from the corner of the room.

All eyes seemed to rest on Jack, who had his eyes adverted to the bundle resting on his chest.

No one really sure how to start the conversation, North began, "Jack..."

He drew his eyes up to the large man's studying gaze. Knowing this would just end up with Jack confused again, he held up a pale hand to indicate that he wanted to speak first.

"Before you ask me any more questions, can someone please answer my questions first?"

They all exchanged eye contacts, before North began, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"What town am I in?"

"A small town by the name of Burgess."

"M'kay. How long have I been here?"

"As of now, approximately three weeks."

That was longer than Jack had thought. A stone dropped into his stomach and he suddenly felt like his food would be coming up. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten so much after going so long without food. He'd heard stories, but never had he thought it to be true.

He let a breath out of his nose, "What was that crystal down in that room for?"

By the way no one answered, Jack figured this must've been the question none of them wanted to answer. After several moments, North spoke, "None of us have ever been able to utilize the crystal as you have. However, we have pieces of the crystal with us that allow us to communicate with each other in moments of desperation."

As he spoke, Jack began to notice the crystal shards that each one of them had on heir person. North's on a ring that sat on his thumb, a necklace resting on Bunny's chest, Tooth's earrings, and Phillip held up a belt that looked too small for himself.

Catching Jack's eye, Phillip spoke, his voice was deep, but not as deep as Jack had expected.

"This is not mine, but due to circumstances, it is in my possession."

Things began to click into place.

"That belonged to the golden man."

North nodded, and seeing Jack's unspoken question, he answered.

"Sanderson was the first to find the crystal. He was alone in this house for several years before the rest of us moved to Burgess. After joining them I began tinkering with the crystal, trying to find out exactly what it was. After some time, and a few accidents, pieces of the crystal chipped off. Picking them up, we discovered that through them, we could hear each other's thoughts. The idea to use them for communication was Sandy's idea, you see, Sandy was mute," North finished.

Jack let it sink in. The little man discovered the crystal. That would explain how he was able to speak with him through touching it, but that didn't explain why he could see him and the others couldn't. Unless...

"Sandy died, didn't he?"

Eyes were sent to the ground as the temperature seemed to drop.

Jack, needing something to do, sent his fingers through Ra's hair, brushing it out. In response she curled into him and wrapped her small hand around his torso. In his peripheral he could see Tooth watching his fingers with small tears in her eyes.

"It was terrible," she whispered.

He looked to her, curiosity in his eyes, as she continued, "Sandy was so smart, smart and kind. He always saw the good in others, even when it wasn't there. Sandy was part of a investigative team up in New York before coming here. He was on the trail of a serial killer, when he was almost hit one night. If it hadn't been for his acute hearing, and short stature, the bullet would have killed him. One of his teammates was able to get the sniper, but he was still hit.

"The wound, although not fatal, hit his spine that caused his nerves to slow the reaction process. Because of this he had to retire early. After retiring, he was targeted again, and it was the bulletproof vest that saved his life that time. He had to change his identity. So he colored his hair, changed his posture, and moved to Burgess, where he discovered the crystal.

"It was about three years ago, just after I had moved in and was still pregnant with Ra. Sandy had gone out with Bunny to pick up some food for dinner..." she trailed off, unable to finish the story.

Bunny noticed and spoke, "We were headed over to the small market to pick up some items for dinner. It was evening and he sun was beginning to go down..."

* * *

_The two figures walked along the street, one substantially shorter than the other._

_"What was it we needed ta' pick up again?" asked the taller of the two._

_The shorter one didn't respond, but handed a slip of paper to the taller._

_"Flour, salt, eggs. What was Tooth makin' again?"_

_A shrug from the smaller._

_"I guess it doesn't matter, everything she makes is great right Sandy?"_

_A nod._

_The two continued on their way down the street. They walked in silence._

_A shadow caught the eye of the shorter one and he turned to look at the alleyway he had seen it. The taller noticed his halt in movement and turned to look at Sandy._

_"What's wrong, mate?"_

_Sandy shook his head and turned back to continue walking._

_They were almost to the market when it crossed his eye again._

_He turned from the taller one and began to walk across the street to where he had seen the shadow._

_"Hey! Sandy, mate! Where ya goin'?"_

_Confused, the taller one followed sandy across the street to wherever he was going. They both stopped in front of a small, narrow alley. No light made its way into the area and the taller let out a shiver._

_"Mate, what are ya doin'?"_

_A door at the end of the alleyway was opened, leading into an empty warehouse._

_A shadow passed by._

_Sandy took off into the building, the taller right behind him._

_"Sandy, I don't think this is such a good idea."_

_The warehouse wasn't extremely large, but big enough to fit a good dozen cars in._

_The door slammed shut behind them._

_The two jumped at the sound._

_"Well, well, well, look who we have here, Sandy, I've been looking for you."_

_Both bodies whirled around in search of the voice's owner, yet he could not be found._

_Sandy reached into his jacket and pulled out two guns, and tossing one to the taller, startling him._

_A malicious laughter was around them. The shadows seemed to move around the warehouse._

_Then as soon as the laughter began, it stopped._

_"You shouldn't have gone against me Sanderson."_

_A gunshot resounded._

_Then another._

_And a third._

_Silence._

_The taller's arm was bleeding, his gun smoking from the shot fired towards the area the words were spoken. He let out a nervous laugh, "That was something eh, Sandy?"_

_He turned._

_The body of his friend was nothing more than a pile of blood. The bullet hitting Sandy's head, leaving scattered bits of brains out on the floor. The face unrecognizable. Shards of broken skull from where the bullet penetrated it lay on the ground._

_Blood was everywhere._

_Aster froze, his knees buckling under him as he crawled towards the mangled flesh._

_"S-sandy?" His voice was cracked._

_Blood continued to seep out of the body._

_He felt something wet and sticky cover his legs._

_Blood._

_And it wasn't his._

_Aster tried to control his breathing and he reached into his shirt to grip the crystal tied around his neck. His breathing became heavier. Holding the shard in his hand he tried to focus his mind to contact the others. His heartbeat quickened. The hand which had been on Sandy's chest fell off and into the puddle of blood. Splashing it onto Aster's face._

_His breathing halted._

_The scream could be heard from miles around.  
_

* * *

Jack let out a gasp.

Someone was shaking him.

"Jack! Jack! Are ya alright?"

His vision cleared up, he was on the floor.

Bunny was once again shaking him. Tooth was standing behind him, Ra in her arms watching Jack with a scared expression. North and Phillip were both standing as well.

"What happened?"

Bunny gave him a look, "I was tellin' what happened when suddenly ya froze up."

"I could see it," It was barely a whisper.

"See what?"

"Sandy's death. It was... it was like I was there. It-" he paused.

Sitting on the coffee table, golden hair and everything, was Sandy.

Jack's head rolled back, and he fainted.

* * *

**Hello Hello!**

**First I'm going to say that Tooth's line about Sandy seeing the good in everyone actually comes from the movie Megamind. Also by Dreamworks I recommend it, cause it's awesome.**

**Also, I've started a poll on my profile for the next story to start.**

**I might not end up writing the one that's picked, but I would like your opinion on what I should write next.**

**Wow, 10 pages, I think that's a new record for me.**

**Anyways, homework sum up.**

**Go watch Megamind.**

**Answer my poll question.**

**Until next time.**

**Bye Bye~**


	5. Dreaming Memories

**I do not own RotG.**

**Frost Patterns in the Eyes  
**

* * *

_He dreamt of dying._

_Dying in horrible, terrible ways._

_Burning in one's own home._

_The melting of flesh._

_Dying of disease._

_Slow, and painful, and the nausea. Vomiting blood into one's palms, unquenchable thirst, the pain inside-_

_Drowning._

_He dreamt of drowning._

_He was underneath the surface._

_Hand reaching out for the top._

_The water was cold._

_He felt his body convulse under the pressure of the water._

_Lungs screaming for air._

_Unable to hold his breath he sucked in the water._

_Something tugged at his ankles._

_His eyes looked down._

_Chains._

_There were chains on his ankles._

_The light above him was so close._

_So close._

_But so far._

_He sucked in another breath._

_He wanted to sleep._

_Wait?_

_Wasn't he already asleep?_

_If he was asleep why did it feel so real?_

_Unless..._

_Unless... he was remembering._

Darkness.

_The shadows in the water wriggled around._

That's the first thing I remember.

_He wasn't panicking. His heartbeat was slow._

It was dark.

_He was calm._

And it was cold.

_The water was getting to him. The temperature was slowing his heart rate down to impossible conditions._

And I was scared.

_Then a thought occurred to him. He was gonna die down there._

_Down in the water._

_Bubbles._

_He saw bubbles._

_Lots of them._

But then...

_He felt arms around him._

_He felt hands at his feet._

_They were taking off the chains._

_Up._

_They were lifting him up._

Then I saw...

_Up. Up. Up. Out of the water._

_His head pierced the surface._

_Air!_

_He breathed in the air!_

_The sweet, warm air!_

_The arms were still pulling._

_Coughing._

_He was coughing and water was coming out._

_But the air was going in!_

_The arms were carrying him._

_Arms under his arms._

_Arms holding his legs._

_Arms setting him down on the grass._

_The water was out._

_Someone was speaking to him._

_Then he saw it._

And it was so big and so bright.

_He could feel the coolness of the air._

It seemed to... chase the darkness away.

_Air continued to enter and leave his chest._

And when it did...

_He saw a face._

_A kind face._

I wasn't scared anymore.

_He closed his eyes._


End file.
